Drop bottom mine car



July 29, 1941 E. R. scHRoEDER DROP BOTTOM MINE C/IAPL Filed Jan. 4, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet '5 INVENTOR l ErnesBY R. Salz raeder- ,o. n /Z ATTORNEY Patented July 29, 1941 DROP BGTTM MINE CAR Ernest R. Schroeder, Hawthorne, N. J., assigner to American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application `Fanuary 4, 1939, Serial No. 249,229

17 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to mine cars in general and in particular to mine cars of the automatic drop bottom door type. In the past all drop bottom mine cars have been built with an exceedingly heavy sill member which constituted the main load carrying element of the car. 'I'he sills were supported on through aXles which usually had the wheels mounted thereon outside the sills. The sills directly supported the drop bottom doors as well as the side wings of the car which were usually braced to the sills, thus the load carried by the wings tended to rotate said wings outwardly and downwardly with the result that there was a tendency for the bearings to bind and place a relatively heavy bending strain on the axles. Such binding and rotating tendency of the side portions was, of course, reduced by having the doors carried by the sills but was not sufficient to wholly overcome the binding tendency, since the lever arm through l which the door worked was of such short length compared with the leverage through which the side wings worked. Further, the sills had to be suciently large to carry the entire load to which the car would be subjected; in other Words, it Was a sill carrying car. It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a car in which the side or wing portions of the car a'ct as the main load carrying element; in other wordsto provide a side carrying car.

A further object of the invention is the pro-y vision of a car having parts so arranged as to prevent any binding tendency in the bearings.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an automatic drop bottom mine car carried on stub axles.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a drop bottom mine car mounted on independent stub axles either directly or through the medium of springs.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational View of substantially one-half the car;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of substantially the other half of the car;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the car looking toward Fig. 6 is a bottom view of .the improved door used on the car;

Fig. 7 is a sectional View taken substantially on the center line of the car andjdisclosing the cross tie construction;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modification thereof;

Fig. 9 is an outside view of the modiiication looking in the direction of arrow 9 of Fig. 8, and

Fig. 10 is an inside vview of the modification looking in the direction of arrow It! ofFig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the 'car is formed bybulbangle. center sills having the webs 2 disposed vvertically and connectedtogether at the ends of the car by an end construction formed of upper and lower substantially Z-shaped plates 4 and 6 respectively. These Z-shaped end plates are connected together to form roughly a channel shaped end sill reinforced on its rear sur-face Y.and suitably connected to the center sills by corner connections 1 and 8. Mounted within the channel like end members are spring mounted 'combined bumping andV draft elements yIii preferably ofthe type shown in Willoughby application 151,508, filed July 1, 1937l now Patent 2,164,558 granted July 4, 1939. The flanges l2 of the ibulb angle centersills are Vdirected outwardly and have 'at-V tached thereto clips I3 forming bearings for off-J set pivot rods i4 to which the door plate l5-is securely welded or otherwise attached. The door plate is substantially'flatthroughout the major portion of its surface, but has the forward edge deflected upwardly as at I6 and bent partially around the pivot rod,.while the rear edge is deflected upwardly as at l1 and is adapted to rest upon the forward edge Iof the next adjacent rearward door; all as clearly shown n`yFigures l and 2. The lower surface of the door plate is suitably reinforced by a plurality of upwardly directed channels I8 having their flange portions welded securely to the vdoor plate. f Additional stifiening and wear means is provided by 'connecting the intermediate reinforcingy channels to gether by short channel member 20 and flat wear plate 22 (Figs. 2 andG) The forward edge of the iorwardmost door is hinged on a straight rod 24; while the rear edge of the rearmostdoor is provided with a projection 25 adapted to be engaged by hook 23 connected to unlatching -bar 29 pivoted to the car end wall at 30 and held-in' latching position by spring 3l. The unlatching arm is formed by one fulllength angle member to which is welded a short angle member 32, thus providing a box section unlatching arm the area subjected to the greatest strain and wear and guided by strap or similar means 33 carried by the end Wall and end sill.

The car is supported upon four wheels W through the medium of stub axles 36 projecting on either side of the wheel into engagement with outer bearings 39 and inner bearings 40, the latter being securely attached to the web of the bulb angle center sills, while the former is attached to the vertical web 4l of the outer or auxiliary sills. These outer or auxiliary sills are also of bulb angle form but inverted with the bulbs placed downwardly and the anges 42 upwardly and directed outwardly away from the wheels. The auxiliary sills are of a length sufficient to connect the outer bearing boxes and extend beyond the wheels an amount suicient for their termination substantially in the transverse plane of the end door supports as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Adjacent each wheel and intermediate the wheels on each side of the car, pan-shaped gusset braces 44 are provided which rigidly connect the center and auxiliary sills as clearly shown in Figs, 1, 2 and 5. The center sills and side sills are additionally connected together by gussets 46 located at the end of the auxiliary sills and at the center thereof. These gussets are so cut as to overlap the webs of the center and auxiliary sills to which they are welded as clearly shown in Fig. 4; also they are so cut as to overlap the outward directed flange 42 of the auxiliary sills and are provided with an upwardly and outwardly directed extension adapted to assist in transferring loads from the side Wall sheet to the center and auxiliary sills. The outer edge of these gussets is provided with a flange 41 to increase their stiiiness as Well as the area of welding between the gusset and flange of the auxiliary sill. Stationary side floors 50 are welded at their lower edges to the bulb of the center sills and are inclined upwardly and outwardly at an angle suflicient to insure discharge of lading from the car and terminate in a vertically directed portion reinforced at its upper edge by roll 52. These stationary side floors or side wings are connected to the end walls 54 through the medium of angles or similar members 56, each of the end walls being braced against bulging and end shocks by gusset members 58 placed on the outside of the end wall with the exception of the one gusset which would interfere with the unlatching bar, this gusset being placed on the inside of the end Wall as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. In order to additionally brace the auxiliary sill and assist in transmitting loads from the side floor to the sill and axle, gussets 60 are provided directly above each axle and connect the auxiliary sills and side iioor portions, being welded to the side oor and connected to the auxiliary sills and outer boxes by means of short angles 62 (Figs. 1 and 4). The gussets B are in elect carried inside the'car by welding interior gussets 64 to the sloping side floor portion and vertical side wall portion 5l directly above the gussets 60. In large capacity cars the gussets 64 will be connected together by means of tie plates 66 having reinforcing rolls 61 at their upper and lower edges (Fig. '7) and which plates are Welded to the interior gussets and to the sloping side floorportions as well as the center sills. The customary center sill ties 68 are provided joining the center sills at each door support point and protecting the hinge axes of the doors from injury by heavy lumps of lading.

Due to the provision of the auxiliary sills, gussets 46, and B4 and their interrelation with respect to the side oor a construction is formed, the members of which cooperate to support the car load. Thus it may be said that the car is properly a side carrying car with the load imposed on the doors being distributed by the center sills, part to the axles and part to the side wall structure for distribution through the gussets to the auxiliary sill and outer boxes which of necessity must carry half of each wheel load. The load carried directly above the side oor portions is directly distributed to the auxiliary and center sills through the gussets. Any rotative tendency of the wings downwardly and outwardly can not cause binding in the bearings, since each wheel and axle assembly could rotate about the rail head. Any rotative tendency of the side wing portions is counteracted, at least in part, by the weight of the lading carried upon the central doors and any part not so counteracted will be resisted by the end walls, intermediate gussets and particularly by cross ties 66. It should be noted that the gussets 4B tying the side floors, center sills and auxiliary sills together are located substantially in alignment with the door hinges, namely, the points at which the loads carried by the central doors are imposed upon the center sills for distribution to the auxiliary sills and side wall structure. Also it should be noted that the gussets 60 and 64 and cross ties 66 (when necessary) are located substantially in the planes of the axles for direct transmission of the loads to the axles.

Under certain mine conditions it is desirable to have the axles movable relative to the body in order to decrease the possibility of derailment and to this end the axles may be spring mounted as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 which disclose one manner in which this may be accomplished. Since the construction shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 is merely a modication of that previously described, the same reference characters have been applied wherever possible. In this case, however, the gussets 6i) have portions thereof removed in order to accommodate outer spring cups 'I0 securely welded to the gussets as shown in Fig. 8. Each cup is formed by a downwardly directed U-shaped member, the vends of which are closed by angles 'l2 having the anges directed outwardly away from each other to provide additional securing area by means of which the spring cup assembly may be secured to the auxiliary sills as by rivets '14. The legs of the angle which close the spring cups also provide guides for axle bearing 15 which rests upon the axle and supports the carload through the medium of outer coil spring 'I6 (Figs. 8 and 9).

, The inner axle bearing 18 instead of being conn. nected to the center sill is guided in an inner spring cup assembly similar to outer spring cup assembly and attached to the center sill by welding as at A and by rivets 82. The load is transmitted from the inner spring cup assembly through spring 84 to the inner axle bearing, thus it will be seen that the load of the car is resiliently mounted on the stub axles Without materially modifying the design or function of the car.

In the casewhere springs are provided it will be necessary to form a modified Wheel housing in order to permit the relative vertical movements between the wheel and body and maintain the clearances the same as when no springs are used. In the present instance the iloor sheet is cut out as at'86 and a relatively large wheel hood 88 provided which is adapted to be securely Welded to the oor sheet and center sill. Each of these hoods has a oor securing flange Sil and two substantially triangular converging portions 92 joining the oor securing ange to a third substantially triangular portion 93, the base of which is a horizontal line substantially parallel to the center sills. These triangular portions and floor securing flanges converge toward a point at one end and are joined at the base by means of an end 94 of substantially truncated triangular form, thus permitting the end and triangular portion 93 to overlap the inner spring cup assembly.

It Will `be obvious that the use of the spring mounting does not in any Way effect the manner in which the loads are carried by the side Wall structure for distribution to the gussets and center and auxiliary sill-s, the sole purpose of the spring mounting being to assist in preventing derailments and to lighten the shocks to which the car body would be subjected during loading and passage over rough tracks.

W'hile the constructions have been described more or less in detail, it is obvious that various modications and rearrangements of parts may be made by persons skilled in the art from a study of the preceding description and drawings and all such modifications and rearrangements of parts are contemplated as fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a drop bottom mine or similar rail car the combination of spaced apart inverted bulb angle auxiliary sills, spaced upright'bulb angle center sills located intermediate said auxiliary sills and having the flanges thereof directed toward the side of the car to provide an unobstructed space between the center sill Webs, side floors carried by said sills and having the inner edges thereof secured to the bulb portions of said center sills, a plurality of drop bottom doors fllling the space between the center sill webs and hingedly carried by the lower flanges thereof on axes extending transversely of the car,.spaced bearing members secured to adjacent web' portions of said auxiliary sills and center sills,` a plurality of wheels intermediate said bearings, and stubV axles supported by said Wheels and in turn supporting said bearing members.

' "2. In a drop bottom mine or similar rail car the'combination of spaced apart auxiliary sills, spaced center sills located intermediate said auxiliary sills, side iioors carried by said sills, a plurality of drop bottom doors hingedly carried by said center sills on axes extending transversely of the car, spaced spring cups secured to adjacent portions of said auxiliary sills and center sills,l bearing members slidable relative to said cups, stub axle wheel assemblies supporting said bearing members, and spring means located ,above said axles and interposed between said cups and bearing members and resiliently supporting said car, saidV spring cups projecting upwardly above the respective sills whereby the axles may be positioned in the horizontal plane of said sills.

3. In a drop bottom mine or similar rail car the combination of spaced apart auxiliary sills, spaced center sills located intermediate said auxiliary sills, side iioors carried by said sills, a plurality of drop bottom doors hingedly carried by said center sills on axes extending transversely of the car, spaced supporting means lthrough the car at secured to and extending above the adjacent portions'of said sills with at least some of said supporting means projecting above the plane of the side floor portions, stub axle wheel assemblies supporting said car, and resilient means interposed between said supporting means and located` above thevaxles ofthe stub` axle wheel assemblies to resiliently support the car.

4. In a drop .bottom mine or similar rail car the combination of a center sill and an auxiliary sill adjacent each side of the car, stub axle and wheel assemblies located on either side of the kcar and supportingV said sills, side iioor portions directly supported by said center sills and indirectly by fsaid auxiliary sills, a plurality of drop bottom doors hingedly carried by said center sills on axes extending transversely of said car, and brace means extending across the car and connecting said side iioor portions, said brace means being located f substantially in a transverse plane the stubI axle and wheel assemblies.

5. In a drop bottom mine or similar rail car the combination of a center sill and an auxiliary sill Yadjacent each side ofthe car, stub. axle and Wheel assemblies located on either side of the car and'supporting said sills, side floor portions connected to said center sills and sloping upwardly aridout'wardlytherefrom in spaced relation to i-said auxiliary sills, a plurality of drop bottom doors" hingedly carried by said center sills on axesextending transversely of said car, brace' means extending across the car and connecting said side floor portions, said brace means being located substantially in a transverse plane through the car at the stub axle and wheel assemblies, and additionalV brace means connecting said auxiliary sills and side door portions substantially in the plane of said brace means.V

6. In a drop bottom mine or similar rail car the combination of a center sill and an auxiliary sill adjacent each vside ofthe car,stub axle and wheel assemblies located on either side of the car vand supporting :said sills, side floor portions supported by said sills, a plurality of drop 1bottom doors hingedly carried by said center sills onv axes extending'transversely of said car, brace means connecting said' side iioor portions together and to vsaid auxiliary sills, said brace means being-located ksubstantially in `a transverse plane through the car at the stub axle and wheel assemblies, and additional brace means at each side of the car connecting said auxiliary sills, center sills and side iloor portions. :7. In a drop bottom mine or similar rail car `the combination of .a center sill and an auxiliary sill adjacent each `side of the car, stub axle and wheel assemblies located on either side of the car and supporting said sills, side oor portions supported by said sills, a plurality of drop bottoml doors `hingedly carried by said center sills on the Vcombination of a center sill and an auxiliary silladjacent each side of the car, stub axle and wheel assemblies located on either side of the car and supporting said sills, side floor portions supported by said sills, a plurality of drop bottom doors Vhingedly carried by said center sills on axes extending transversely of said car, brace means connecting said side oor portions together and to said auxiliary sills, said brace means being located substantially in transverse planes through the car at the stub axle and Wheel assemblies, cross ties connecting said center sills substantially at said hinge axes, and additional bracing means located at each side of the car and connecting said center sills, auxiliary sills and side oorportions together, said additional bracing means being located substantially in the transverse planes through the car at said cross ties.

9. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of center sills, auxiliary sills spaced outwardly of said center sills, wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sills, side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said center sills and overlying said auxiliary sills, -central floor portions carried by said center sills and having at least the major portion thereof located below a horizontal plane through saidl axles, brace means located beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said side floor portions and adjacent center and auX- iliary sills together, and cross ties joining said center sills together, said cross ties being located substantially in the plane of said brace means and forming extensions thereof within the car to prevent distortion of the sills and sloping side floor portions.

10. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of center sills, lauxiliary sills spaced outwardly of said center sills, wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sills, side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said center sills and overlying said auxiliary sills, central oor portions carried by said center sills and having at least the major portion thereof located below a horizontal plane through said axles, brace means located beneath said side iioor portions at each side of the car and connecting said side floor portions and adjacent center and auxiliary sills together, cross ties joining said center sills together substantially in the plane of said brace means and forming extensions thereof within the car to prevent distortion of the sills and sloping side oor portions, and additional brace means located beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said side floor portions and auxiliary sills together substantially in transverse planes through said car at the axles whereby the loads on said side floor portions are transferred more directly to said axles.

11. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of center sills, auxiliary sills spaced outwardly of said center sills, wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sills, side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said center sills and overlying saidl auxiliary sills, central floor portions carried by said center sills and having at least the major portion thereof located below a horizontal plane through said axles, brace means located beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said side oor portions and adjacent center and auxiliary sills together, cross ties joining said center sills together substantially in the plane of said brace means and forming extensions thereof within the car to prevent distortion of the sills and sloping side floor portions, additional brace means located beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said auxiliary sills and side floor portions, and interior brace means located above said side floor portions and connected thereto for strengthening the same, said interior brace means being located substantially in the plane of said additional brace means whereby deep braces are obtained within clearance limits and with a minimum of obstruction in the lading space of the car.

12. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of center sills, auxiliary sills spaced outwardly of said center sills, wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sills, side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said center sills and overlying said auxiliary sills, central floor portions carried by said center sills and having at least the major portion thereof located below a horizontal plane through said axles, brace means located beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said side licor portions and adjacent center and auxiliary sills together, cross ties joining said center sills together substantially inthe plane of said brace means and forming extensions thereof within the car to prevent distortion of the sills and sloping side floor portions, additional brace meansv located beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said auxiliary sills and side floor portions, and interior brace means located above said side floor portions and connected thereto for strengthening the same, said additional brace means and interior brace means being positioned substantially in transverse planes through the car at the axles whereby the loads on said side floor portions are transferred more directly to said axles.

13. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of center sills, auxiliary sills spaced outwardly of said center sills, wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sills, side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said center sills and overlying said auxiliary sills, central floor portions carried by said center vsills and having at least the major portion thereof located below a horizontal plane through said axles, brace meanslocated beneath said side floor portions at each side of the car and connecting said side floor portions and adjacent center and auxiliary sills together, cross ties joining said center sills together substantially in the plane of said brace means and forming extensions thereof within the car to prevent distortion of the sills and sloping side floor portions, additional brace means located beneath said side oor portions at each side of the car and connecting said auxiliary sills and side floor portions, interior brace means located above said side floor portions and connected thereto for strengthening the same, said additional brace means and interior brace means being positioned substantially in transverse planes through the car at the axles whereby the loads carried by said side floor portions are transferred directly to the adjacent axle, and additional cross ties joining said side floor portions and interior bra'ce means together to prevent spreading of the car sides.

14. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of spaced sill members adjacent each side of the car, wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sill members. side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly past said sill members, brace means tying said side oor portions together and to the adjacent sill members to form girder walls at each side of the car directly supported by the adjacent wheel and axle assemblies, end walls connecting said girder Walls together, and plate metal tie means connecting said girder walls together intermediate said end Walls thereby preventing spreading of the girder side walls.

15. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of spaced sill members adjacent each side of the car, Wheel and axle assemblies supporting said sill members, side floor portions slopingv upwardly and outwardly past said sill members, brace means tying said side floor portions together and to the adjacent sill members to form girder wals at each side of the car directly supported by the adjacent wheel and axle assemblies, end walls connecting said girder walls together, and plate metal tie means connecting said girder Walls together intermediate said end Walls, said plate metal tie means and certain of said brace means being positioned substantially in transverse planes through said car at the axles Whereby the loads carried by said side walls will be transferred directly to the adjacent axles.

16. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of spaced sill members adjacent each side of the car, independent wheel and axle assemblies for supporting said sill members, resilient means v.projecting above said sill members and supporting said sill members on said wheel and axle assemblies, central floor portions located between said wheels and having the major portion thereof below a substantially horizontal plane through said axles, side oor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said central floor portions past said sill members and cutting said resilient means and Wheels below the top edges thereof, openings in said side floor portions to receive said wheels, and wheel hoods closing said openings and covering said wheels and projecting resilient means.

17. In a mine or similar rail car the combination of spaced sill members adjacent each side of the car, independent wheel and axle assemblies for supporting said sill members, resilient means projecting above said sill members and supporting said sill members on said wheel and axle assemblies, central oor portions located between said wheels and having the major por-- .tion thereof below a substantially horizontal plane through said axles, side floor portions sloping upwardly and outwardly from said central floor portions past said sill members and cutting said resilient means .and whels below the top edges thereof, openings in said side floor portions to receive said Wheels, and Wheel hoods closing said openings and covering said wheels and projecting resilient means, said wheel hoods being each formed of a plurality of triangular shaped portions having their apices joined and their bases merging into an end wall plate.

ERNEST R. SCI-IROEDER. 

